Beagle - 1:41 pm on Jul 31, 2008 (gmt 0)

I assume you know you're not going to get an answer on this, but just ideas on things to consider. The normal answer would be "test, test, test..." but that's more difficult if you're trying to choose between two completely different types of sites. (Of course, you could always do both.)

First question would be - Do you want to run an ecommerce business? There's a lot more involved in that than building the website, and if you're lucky it'll be ongoing involvement. Do you have a great ecommerce idea that would give customers a reason to buy a product or service from you instead of someone else? Moving from an affiliate or adwords site to an ecommerce one is moving from advertising other people's businesses to starting your own, which is a whole different kind of commitment.

OTOH (and this is strictly MHO, which I'd like to hear other opinions on), it seems to me that a website that's highly dependent on search engine traffic would be a difficult one for affiliate marketing. Maybe I'm biased because my affiliate-based site is in a niche that depends almost entirely on peer-to-peer recommendations and mentions/links on authority sites rather than on searches, but I'd think it would be difficult to turn many search-engine visitors into regulars.

Also IMHO, a good affiliate-site topic (using your "learn Spanish" example) needs to have a range of options for those return visitors: from books and classes for people just thinking about learning Spanish, to literature and movies in Spanish for those who are fluent, and maybe travel to Spanish-speaking countries. (Lots of other options, I'm sure, but it's not a topic I've thought much about - I know one person who practices her Spanish by reading the Harry Potter books in Spanish.) If the only affiliate links you have are to books and classes for people initially learning Spanish, there aren't any options for those long-term visitors - even if they come back, there's nothing for them to spend their money on. Whether a particular topic could be "enough" to make a go of an affiliate site would be something you'd have to decide.

OTOH, if you want to start an online business offering beginning Spanish classes yourself, ranking high on searches for "learn Spanish" would be essential - you'd want more first-time visitors and wouldn't be as concerned about bringing people back after they've mastered the language.

So - "It all depends..."